Godfrey-Lee Public Schools announced today, Oct. 7, that it has made rapid-response saliva tests available to all students and staff with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
According to a supplied statement, the testing program is a pilot project conducted in collaboration with the Kent County Health Department and Arctic Medical Laboratories, and provided at no cost to students or families. Students or staff that are flagged by daily health screenings will be eligible for testing that has a 24-hour response time.
“Testing is another mitigation strategy we believe to be critical in keeping our schools open for in person learning.” Kevin Polston, superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, said in supplied material.
The pilot project at Lee will be closely watched by the Kent County Health Department (KCHD) and other health officials.
“Once we learn valuable lessons from this pilot with the Godfrey Lee school district, we will offer this rapid test resource to other Kent County School districts,” Joann Hoganson, KCHD Community Wellness Division director, said in supply material. “Our goal is to identify COVID-19 students and staff quickly so that they can be isolated. This will help prevent the spread of the virus in the schools.”
Similar to other testing sites in Kent County, private health insurance or Medicaid will be billed for the testing for those covered by insurance, according to the announcement. And the county health department is using federal CARES Act funding to pay for tests for uninsured individuals “to make testing accessible to all” students.
“Collaboration amongst public organizations demonstrates the mutual value of service to our community,” Polston said. “Our shared responsibility is maintaining overall public health and safety. Schools are vital for learning, but also for other essential services critical to student wellbeing. Accessible, rapid-response testing will keep our schools as safe as possible.”
Godwin Heights goes for a two-point extra point conversion after junior quarterback Jeremiah Drake (1) punched in an early Wolverine touchdown in their Oct. 2 home game against Belding. (WKTV)
While Grand Rapids South Christian High School ran their record to 3-0, with a win over Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (0-3), 41-24, both East Kentwood and Wyoming high’s offense kicked into high gear with the playoffs looming and three games remaining on the shortened 2020 regular-season schedule.
East Kentwood (1-2) rolled up 42 points in an easy road win at Grand Haven (0-3) as the Falcons defense held the Buccaneers to just 12 first-half points and running back Jeffery Perry rushed for 143 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
Also standing out on offense for East Kentwood was senior quarterback Brandon Miller, who passed for 146 yards on a 13-of-24 night, with one touchdown, while also adding 55 yards on the ground. Senior running back Drapher Cribb scored a rushing touchdown and senior Evan Milliken caught Miller’s touchdown pass. Senior Jaylen Smith added a defensive touchdown on a fumble recovery.
“We overcame some early mistakes on both sides of the ball,” East Kentwood head football coach Tony Kimbrough said to WKTV. “We played well in all phases of the game, especially in the second half. Jeffrey Perry was a big part of our success.”
East Kentwood’s next game is Oct. 9 at home against Jenison (2-1). And in a change to the WKTV Featured Game schedule, we will be covering the Falcons game live on cable television and live-streamed at WKTV.org (click on the Live button).
Wyoming Wolves score 57 points in heartbreaking loss
Wyoming high’s offensive was in high gear for the second straight week with a dominating ground game totaling more than 500 yards and six touchdowns. But the Wolves (0-3) fell just short in a shoot-out on the road at Grand Rapids Union (1-2), 59-57.
Wyoming high coaches talk to their Wolves team from an early season game. (WKTV)
Wyoming had two players go over 200 yards rushing, with senior Cameron Simon totaling 264 yards on 18 carries, and senior Jeremy Barber totaling 209 on 27 carries with four touchdowns. Junior Mateo Ledesma added 42 yards and two touchdowns. But Wyoming head coach Irvin Sigler said the key to his explosive offense is his senior laden offensive line.
“We had two backs over 200 yards rushing, and that is an amazing feat,” Sigler said to WKTV. “Our offensive line had a tremendous game … lineman Anthony Alvarado, Seth DeYoung, Sam DeYoung, Ronald Divers, Sawyer VanDyke, as well as fullbacks Guizzippi Jobse and Collin St. John, were stellar.”
Senior quarterback Matthew Berg was 11-of-19 passing with one touchdown, and senior Mahki Matthews led the receivers with three catches.
The Wolves will be at home, this week, Oct. 9, against defending state Class A champions Muskegon Mona Shores (3-0). And Sigler said his defense will need to be better this week and continue to get better as the playoffs approach.
“Defensively we struggled all night and did not tackle well,” Sigler said. “Our kids will work to improve and get better at all types of tackling this week.”
The rest of the local action
Grand Rapids South Christian (3-0) at home (playing at East Kentwood) defeated Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (0-3), 41-24. The Sailors’ next game is Oct. 9 at Cedar Springs (2-1).
At Godwin Heights, after an early touchdown by junior quarterback Jeremiah Drake and two-point extra point conversion, the Wolverines (1-2) lost at home to Belding (3-0), 26-8, in what was the Oct. 2 WKTV Featured Game. The game was broadcast on cable live and live-streamed, and will be available on-demand at WKTVlive.org later this week. The Wolverines next scheduled game, at Grandville Calvin Christian on Oct. 9, has been cancelled, so its next game is Oct. 16 at Hopkins (currently 3-0).
Kelloggsville (0-3) lost at home to Comstock Park (10-2), 56-14. The Rockets next game is Oct. 9 at Sparta (1-2).
Lee (1-2 with forfeit win) lost at home to Comstock (2-1), 58-8. In that game, Legends quarterback Imiliano Valdez connected with Takayon Smith for a 68-yard touchdown strike, as well as a 2-point conversion. The Legends next game, scheduled for Oct. 9 against Muskegon Orchard View (0-3), has been cancelled by Lee.
The boys tennis tournament will look a little different this fall due to COVID-19 related changes. But there will still be plenty of action. (MHSAA.com)
The high school boys tennis season is being played in Michigan, but the state tournament will look different after the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) this month approved a one-year adjusted state tournament format with less venues and condensed dates.
Postseason play will begin with one-day team district tournaments being played on Oct. 7-10 at 16 sites per division with the team finals of Divisions 1-4 to be played Oct. 15-17. For the division’s finals, the first rounds will be played at four sites before the semi-finalists come together to play at one site.
The following week, Oct. 22-24, during a one-day tournament to crown a champion in all four divisions, 32 No. 1 singles players will face-off in bracketed play to decide the singles champions.
The MHSAA believes these changes will limit the number of teams playing at a single site to help prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.
For the latest information on the state tournament visit the MHSAA website at mhsaa.com.
Wyoming’s High School’s head football coach Irvin Sigler was supposed to be awarded the West Michigan Officials Association’s Coach of the Year award at an association ceremony early this year. But then came COVID-19, and pubic ceremonies were put on hold.
While he did received the honor over the summer, during a socially-distant visit form association officials, Sigler says the honor was special none-the-less.
“I feel very honored, but it is truly a reflection of our program, players and assistant coaches,” Sigler said to WKTV. “It is more significant than any award I’ve received in coaching.”
And the reason is simple, Sigler said: “It comes from officials, who don’t get much recognition and thanks for what they do. But without whom we would have no game.
“It means so much to me, because officials have the chance to see coaches at our best and our worst. To know that I’ve earned the respect of this group of men tells me that we are doing things right as a team and program.”
And Coach Sigler, who is also the Dean of Students at Wyoming high, wants his players to win off the field as well as on at the field.
“I want to continue for us to portray the best values of sportsmanship, and ambassadors of the game,” he said. “I want our players to take pride in knowing that their attitude and behavior are respected by the ‘gatekeepers’ of the game.”
During a pandemic-shortened football season, Sigler said his expectations for his team are equally simple.
“To get better every day, be a great practice team and play as hard as we can on Friday nights,” he said .”That we will continue to honor the game and our community. That we will continue to treat people with dignity and respect.”
After Week 2 of the adjusted high school football season, South Christian High School remained undefeated, Godwin Heights gained its first win in a big way over Kelloggsville, while East Kentwood’s offense came alive but could not overcome a scoring onslaught by Grandville in WKTV’s Featured Game of the Week.
The biggest news may have come not on the field, however, but from the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the state’s governing body of high school sports, which made a little clearer what the expanded football playoffs will look like.
Playoff field expands; some details set
In an expected announcement on the expansion of the Michigan high school football playoff format, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) last week approved plan in which all teams would be eligible regardless of regular season records. There are currently 507 teams playing 11-player football, but some are already forfeiting games and/or are canceling games.
According to the MHSAA statement, teams have been placed in pre-arranged divisions based on enrollment, and into districts mostly reflecting current conferences. Teams will be seeded 1-8 based on playoff-point average, with the teams with highest averages hosting at the District and Regional levels.
The current, tentative playoff format includes, for each division, first three district round games, then the regional finals, and finally state semifinals and finals. The host sites for the semifinals and finals will be pre-arranged and announced at a later date. Finals will be played the weekend of Dec. 4-6.
Further details are expected to be “provided soon” on the Football page of the MHSAA website at mhsaa.com/sports/football.
Back on the field locally last week
On the road Friday, Sept. 25, the South Christian Sailors jumped out to a 21-0 first half lead and ran their record to 2-0 with a win at Ada Forest Hills Eastern, 35-12.
In the win, quarterback Ty Rynbrandt as 14-of-21 for 111 yards, including touchdown strikes to Sam Meengs and Elliot Grashuis. Eli Smith led the receivers with 33 yards on sic receptions. Daniel Possett led the Sailors rushing attack with 49 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Jeff Herrema was 5-for-5 in extra point kicks.
Conner Dykema led the defense with two solo tackles and five assists. And the defense scored one touchdown.
“Another good defensive performance,” South Christian head coach Danny Brown said to WKTV. “Both touchdowns given up were played well by our defensive backs but the receiver just made a better play. … We didn’t light up the stat book but we made the most of our opportunities. Great team win. Everyone was able to get some playing time which is always a bonus.”
Next up, the Sailors will be at home Friday, Oct. 2, as they host Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (0-2).
At East Kentwood, senior quarterback Braden Miller continued his hot start to the season going 18-of-30 passing for 359 yards and three touchdowns as the Falcons fell just short to Grandville, 54-42.
East Kentwood scores against Grandville on Sept. 25. (WKTV)
Miller also gained 60 yards on the ground as Kylon Hunnicut added 53 yards on just three carries. Hunnicut did most of his damage receiving, however, with 112 yards on three receptions. Pacino Horne added 102 yards on 12 receptions. On defense, Darian Quinn had seven tackles, and Carson Dunn, Caius Austin, Razah Townsend, Jocari Barnes and Jodon Gray-Tolb all had five tackles.
The East Kentwood game was WKTV Featured game and was broadcast on cable live and live-streamed. It is available on-demand at WKTVlive.org, along with all featured games from this season.
This week’s WKTV featured game will be Belding at Godwin Heights, and will also be broadcast live on cable and live-streamed available at WKTV.org by hitting the “Live” button.
Last week, Godwin (1-1) won at Wyoming Kelloggsville (0-2), 32-8. (Scheduling notes: Kelloggsville will be at home against Comstock Park (0-2) this week. Godwin’s scheduled Oct. 9 game at Grandville Calvin Christian has been cancelled.)
In the Godwin game, Kelloggsville sophomore quarterback Zack Zerfys was 10-of-17 for 86 yards including a touchdown strike to junior Jabari Campbell and a 2-point conversion to Cory Patton Ivy.
In other local games, Wyoming high (0-2) lost at home to Zeeland East, 49-14, while Wyoming Lee (1-1) gained a 1-0 forfeit over Three Oaks River Valley and will be at home this week against Comstock (1-1).
In the Wyoming high game, the Wolves senior quarterback Matthew Berg was 10-of-22 passing for 205 yards and a touchdown to fellow senior Mahki Matthews, who led the team with 151 yards receiving. Jeremy Barber scored the Wolves other touchdown as he rushed for 36 yards on 11 carries. Senior Cam Simon led Wyoming’s rushing attack with 57 yards on 15 carries.
“We played as hard as we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Wolves head coach Irv Sigler said to WKTV. “I am really proud of the fight in our kids. We had a lot to prove after a poor performance against Zeeland West. We played another outstanding football team this week and our kids gave everything they have. We will continue to get better and work to maximize our potential.”
Next up for the Wyoming Wolves is a rod game at Grand Rapids Union (0-2).
Wyoming’s The Potter’s House Christian High School started their cross country program last year but their success looked like an established program which has been winning for years.
Coach Kristopher Koster led the first-year high school boys’ team to the state finals, where his team made a statement about their arrival. The Potter’s House boy’s team finished 6th overall as a team in all of Division 4.
But this season, like many other sports and teams around the area, cross country is tasked with adjusting to the changes caused by Covid-19, according to coach Koster.
For starters, warmups for events have been cut down to as short as 15 minutes for a race. The limit of competitors has also been cut down to 70 racers. Each school races their top seven runners so this new rule limits 10 teams to a race at a time. Bigger cross country meets are now splitting up meets over a long day or even multiple days to complete the meet.
“Teams now have team boxes their team must stand in at the starting line,” Koster told WKTV. “Each team box has a box or two to separate a team from another team.”
“This trend of separating teams also occurs at the finish line,” he said. “Usually following the race, teams would gather together and have an award ceremony to hand out medals and team awards. COVID-19 has eliminated award ceremonies as medals are handed out as soon as you finish your race. After being handed your award, you are required to immediately go to your team’s bus and leave. Teams are not permitted to even do a cool-off jog on the site of the meet.”
Coach Koster also said that “most meets have no spectators due to the difficulty regulating two guests per runner. If the meet sees a spectator from your team then they will disqualify your team.”
Despite changes, coach and team expects success
Even with all the changes, coach Koster is confident in his team’s ability to have continued success.
The Potter’s House top three boys’ team returners — senior Andrew Blum and sophomores Moses Osterink and Logan Swiney — are expected to be big for this year’s team.
Coach Koster says the there make the team “so much better from last season that it’s almost like we have three guys who maybe aren’t as good as Caleb Stout last year. But it could be. by the end of the year, instead of just having the one guy who consistently finished at the top of races.”
The boys team, overall, has high goals for this season.
“I am confident we can place much higher in states,” another senior, Eli Hart, said to WKTV.
Coach Koster also coaches the girls’ cross country at the high school and the middle school team at the elementary school. The girls’ high school team had one runner, Ester Cole, attend the state finals last year. But the girls hope to attend as a team this season.
“Our team goal, the girls want to go to states,” Erika VerBeek said.
Coach Koster has also installed a mindset into this team to push each other everyday, no matter what your spot on this team is.
“If the 12th guy gets better that pushes the 11th guy and the dominoes keep falling all the way to the top,” coach Koster said. “Everyone has an impact.”
This mindset has connected with his runners.
“We are trying to become stronger runners, stronger people, and stronger followers of Christ,” said Joshua Lundberg.
WKTV volunteer Greg Yoder, one of the series hosts of WKTV Journal Sports Connection, leads a discussion with Lee High School girls sports coaches. (WKTV)
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection, as part of our continuing series of shows focused on different local high school and their sports departments, we catch up with the Lee Legends.
Led by WKTV volunteer Greg Yoder, one of the series hosts, we talk with two of the girls sports coaches and find out about how they are handling COVID-19 restrictions in practice and in competition, their work in building girls sports programs at the small school, and — yes — we talk about the outlook for their teams.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection brings its audience interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports, both on cable television and on our on-demand and YouTube channels. Readers can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting wktvjournal.com/sports.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of highs school athletic events and other sports, at WKTVlive.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also usually available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
With just a week of full, in-pads practice under their belts, most local Wyoming and Kentwood football teams struggled in various degrees in the season’s delayed Week 1 contests (Week 4 on the original schedules).
The only win was Grand Rapids South Christian gaining a home-field win over Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills, 25-15.
In the Sailors win, quarterback Ty Rynbrandt (20-of-27 for 213 yards) had two short touchdown passes to Elliott Grashuis, the second with under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to put away the game. The pair also connected on a 2-point conversion after a 9-yard TD run in the third quarter by Daniel Possett. Eli Smith was Rynbrandt’s favorite target, however, as he had 10 receptions for 138 yards. Jeff Herrema added a field goal and two extra points.
“We played tough on defense once we settled in,” South Christian head coach Danny Brown said two WKTV. “Very happy with our tenacity and pursuit to the football. Lots of positives on offense but had a few penalties and untimely missed assignments that ruined drives.”
Outside of that, the best games of the night for local teams were Godwin Height’s outstanding defensive effort at home against Sparta in a 6-0 loss, and East Kentwood’s 21-13 loss at home to Hudsonville, 21-13.
In other games, Wyoming high lost at home to Zeeland West, 60-20, in a WKTV Featured game which was broadcast on cable live and live-streamed. and which will be available on-demand at WKTVlive.org later this week. In that game, the Wolves gained touchdowns from seniors Mekhi Bobo and Cameron Simon, as well as on a pass from senior quarterback Matthew Berg to senior Mahki Matthews.
Also, Kelloggsville lost at GR Northpointe Christian, 37-14, and Wyoming Lee lost at home to Niles Brandywine, 61-7.
Godwin Heights defense strong in tight loss
Despite the loss, Godwin Heights head coach Brandon Kimble said he expects a good year out of his Wolverines, “an experienced team” with double digit starters returning on both offense and defense.
“The offense will be led by (junior) Jeremiah Drake at quarterback and an important piece offensively will be (senior) Jamontae Burrell, both players were all conference last year.” Kimble said in an email to WKTV about his team’s outlook. “On the O line and D line, Godwin has a highly recruited offensive tackle and defensive end in (senior) Ru’Quan Buckley. Players to watch defensively will be (senior) Craig Hughes and (junior) Jabari Crump(-Moore). Craig is a returning all conference honorable mention player at safety and Crump is returning from injury after starting at linebacker the previous year.”
At East Kentwood, senior Branden Miller scored a touchdown for the Falcons’ only offensive score. Miller also led the team in rushing with 29 yards and passing with 62 yards. (Programming note: WKTV’s Feature Game live game coverage crew is tentatively scheduled to be at East Kentwood on Sept. 25 for the team’s game against Grandville.)
In Kelloggsville’s opening night game, sophomore quarterback Zack Zerfas was 11-of-20 passing for 205 yards and touchdowns to junior Damario Montgomery and junior Jabari Campbell, who led the team in receiving with six receptions for 116 yards. Sophomore Camron Townsend led the team in rushing with 41 yards and added 59 yards receiving.
On Sept. 3, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a lessening of Covid-19 restrictions on sporting activities, including high school football and other fall contact sports. The MHSAA, the sports governing body for Michigan high school sports, followed quickly with the much hoped for announcement that football would be played this fall.
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection — WKTV Sports’ new sports show focused on local high school sports — we talk with the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s John Johnson, MHSAA director of broadcast properties.
We talk about what prep football, and other MHSAA sanctioned sports, might look like this fall — for players, coaches and fans. And we get a hint of what the expanded 2020 football playoff format might be.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection brings its audience interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports, both on cable television and on our YouTube channel. Readers can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting WKTV journal.com/sports.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of highs school athletic events and other sports, at WKTV.viebit.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also usually available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
WKTV Community Media each year broadcasts fall football games as part of its extensive coverage of Wyoming and Kentwood high school athletic teams. But with in-stadium crowds limited in this shortened prep football season due to COVID-19 restrictions, WKTV’s sports coverage will expand to provide fans with live coverage of games.
Starting with the Week 4 contest featuring Zeeland West at Wyoming High on Friday, Sept. 18, WKTV will livestream our Featured Game broadcast on WKTV.org (click on Watch Live), as well as on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel.
WKTV’s Feature Game coverage crew is ready for a little football. (WKTV)
“WKTV prides itself on being the community connection for the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood, so we wanted to step up and be the weekly football source for fans with live coverage of games,” Tom Norton, general manager for WKTV Community Media, said. “We thank the MHSAA for allowing us to bring these games live to our community.”
At this time, our schedule will include the Week 5 Sept. 25 game of Grandville at East Kentwood, and the Week 6 Oct. 2 game of Belding at Godwin Heights. (East Kentwood’s home game will be live-streamed on a different platform, and WKTV will provide that information.) WKTV also plans to cover local games in Week 8 and 9, and possibly into opening round of the now-expanded playoffs.
“We’re relaxing our live video rules during the pandemic to allow games to get out to fans who can’t get to the events,” John Johnson, director of broadcast properties for the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), said.
For more information on WKTV coverage of football and other fall prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
Friday night lights could be returning to local fields. (Shown is Lee High School’s football team celebrating a win over Galesburg-Augusta in 2019.) (Supplied)
In 2020, this year of pandemic, Wyoming and Kentwood high school athletic teams — especially football teams — have, in the opinion of Wyoming high head football coach Irv Sigler, “learned to adjust and adapt to whatever happens.”
So on Thursday, Sept. 2, when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office announced competitive sports would be allowed and the Michigan High School Athletic Association give its approval, with restrictions and with pages of state health department and MHSAA guidance, local teams hit the ground running.
The result of state and MHSAA action is some fall sports that had been in limbo, including boys soccer and volleyball, can begin competitive action against other schools as early as the week of Sept. 7. And high school football can begin be under the Friday-night lights beginning Sept. 18.
The final approval for beginning of competitive action will be left to the discretion of individual school districts and athletic departments, according to a MHSAA statement.
But with the news, local football teams are chomping at the bit and ready to get into pads for the first time next week, and will be ready to begin action in two weeks.
East Kentwood football coach Anthony Kimbrough working with a previous year team at practice. (WKTV)
“Our players, especially our seniors, are extremely excited about playing on Friday nights thIs fall,” East Kentwood head football coach Tony Kimbrough said to WKTV. “Most teams have never stopped practicing, therefore adding pads and actually hitting one another won’t be an issue. We will hit the ground running on Tuesday, and we cannot wait.”
Coach Sigler echoed his fellow coach when it comes to his Wolves team being ready to play in two weeks.
“Our kids have worked hard and are ready for the opportunity,” Sigler said to WKTV. “All high school football players deserve to have their season — and everyone is very excited. As for the time it takes to prepare — we are all essentially in the same boat, so there’s a sense of equal footing there.”
And there is a sense that school communities and football fans alike need the opportunity to have a degree of normality with a however-shortened football season.
“I truly believe that the return of high school football is what our state needs,” Kimbrough said. “COVID-19 has had a traumatic impact on many lives. I believe football will give everyone a much needed dose of hope and joy, and assurance that normal times are soon to return. This will certainly have a positive effect on the mental health of our student athletes. … (And) hopefully this will generate a lot excitement for our student body and the community.”
And while all high school athletic teams are expected to resume their approved fall 2020 schedules once competition starts, with football beginning with Week 4 games, there will be changes to the regular schedule of the football playoff system, the MHSAA also said.
“All football teams in 11 and 8-player football will qualify for the playoffs during this fall’s shortened season, and then advance through their usual postseason progression with 8-Player Finals the weekend of Nov. 27-28 and 11-Player Finals the weekend of Dec. 4-5,” according to the MHSAA statement.
All other fall 2020 tournaments will be conducted as previously scheduled.
Approvals, restrictions and health warnings
The fall 2020 football season was reinstated by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association after Gov. Whitmer’s Executive Order 176 this week lifted restrictions that previously did not allow football — as well as soccer, volleyball and competitive swimming — to be played.
But according to the MHSAA, “schools are not required to play any of those sports this fall, and may postpone until the spring. However, the MHSAA will conduct its postseason events in those four sports only for the Fall 2020 season.”
But the current order also sets spectator limits for outdoor and indoor events in Phase 4 of the MI Safe Start Plan, which Wyoming and Kentwood schools fall under. The details of this implementation of those limits are to be finalized by the individual school districts and high schools.
But general state restrictions on spectators of high school events were detailed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHSS).
“Spectators for indoor organized sports are limited to the guests of the athletes with each athlete designating up to two guests. For outdoor sports competitions, the organizer of the competitions must either limit the audience to the guests of the participants with each athlete designating up to two guests, or limit total attendance to 100 people or fewer, including all participants like athletes, coaches, and staff.”
The MHSAA, too, has health guidance for the on-field athletes and teams.
“We share the Governor’s priorities of putting health and safety first, and the COVID-19 guidance and protocols designed by the MHSAA at her request have led to the safe starts in all sports across the state,” MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl said in the MHSAA statement. “Thirty three other states are currently participating in all fall sports, and the MHSAA and its member schools are committed to doing this as safely as possible.”
While the Governor’s new order allowed the MHSAA to go ahead with fall competitive sports, the state health department at the same time issued a warning to schools which decide to participate.
“Individuals can now choose whether or not to play organized sports, and if they do choose to play, this order requires strict safety measures to reduce risk,” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHSS chief medical executive, said in the Governor’s statement. “However, we know of 30 reported outbreaks involving athletic teams and facilities in August. Based on current data, contact sports create a high risk of COVID-19 transmission and MDHHS strongly recommends against participating in them at this time. We are not out of the woods yet. COVID-19 is still a very real threat to our families.”
With the high school football season now planned to begin Friday, Sept. 18, WKTV expects to resume its coverage of high school football action on that day.
The Kent County Board of Commissioners last week approved $2 million, part of a nearly $115 million federal CARES Act grant awarded to Kent County earlier this year, to help county schools reopen safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. All county schools — public, private and charter — are eligible for the funding.
The grants are based on the number of students enrolled in each school in 2019, with schools receiving approximately $16 per student, according to supplied material. The grants provide schools with flexibility in how they use the funds as they continue to implement back-to-school plans.
“We are fortunate to have this federal funding and be able to provide our schools with the resources they need to ensure our children continue to learn and grow,” Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Mandy Bolter said in supplied material.
Eligible uses of the funding could include purchase of personal protection equipment and sanitation supplies, technology costs necessary for enhanced virtual learning, or to finance mental healthcare and nurses.
“We appreciate the support of the Kent County Board of Commissioners. This approval will help schools secure the needed resources and services to meet the needs of students during this pandemic,” Kent ISD Superintendent Ron Caniff said in supplied material.
The Kent County Board of Commissioners has previously allocated CARES funding for other programs to assist communities during the coronavirus pandemic, including the Kent County Small Business Recovery Program, shelter assistance, non-profit assistance, and a business personal protection equipment program.
For more information about the CARES Act and related Kent County efforts, visit here.
On the latest episode of WKTV Sports’ new sports show focused on local high school sports, WKTV Journal Sports Connection, WKTV volunteer sports announcer Greg Yoder catches us up on the Kelloggsville High School athletics.
Kelloggsville athletic director Eric Alcorn and coach Brandon Branch. (WKTV)
Yoder talks with the Rockets’ new athletic director Eric Alcorn and with new head football coach Brandon Branch — and Coach Branch is no stranger to the Kelloggsville program having been involved with the Rockets football coaching staff for more than a decade, including being varsity defensive coordinator for eight years. We talk about what’s new at Kelloggsville, and about the uncertainly surrounding Michigan’s high school football season.
Recently retired Kelloggsville high football coach Don Galster. (WKTV)
Also on the episode is special segment on Don Galster, who was the head football coach for the Rockets for 30 years before his retirement early this year, talking about his years of coaching at Kelloggsville and a few memorable moments.
Additionally, we produced a print/online story that goes into more detail on Galster, what he plans to do now that he’s left the Rockets’ sideline and a football game memory that still brings him to tears.
This fall, WKTV Journal Sports Connection be bringing its audience interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports, both on cable television and on our YouTube channel. Readers can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting WKTVjournal.com/sports.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of highs school athletic events and other sports, at WKTV.viebit.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also usually available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Coach Don Galster readily admits, reflecting on 37 years of coaching high school football including a 30-year stint as head coach at Kelloggsville High School, that he remembers the wins and losses, the big games and the private moments. But it was the kids, the endless stream of Rockets, that kept the job fun.
And after last season, when he decided to hand the ball off to another, and to take a “tough to turn down” job offer as a junior varsity softball coach at Aquinas College, it was also driven by the kids. His and his wife, Sue, have three girls — Nicole, Brittany and Taylor — each of whom played softball and whom he coached in school and in travel ball.
“It was a great career (at Kelloggsville) and it is awesome to look back and see what has been done,” Galster, who also taught physical education at Kelloggsville for 31 years, said to WKTV recently. “It’s the love of just working with kids every day. I throughly enjoyed it. Watching the football program grow. Watching the Kelloggsville community grow. It has come a long ways in 30 years, let me tell you.”
But after three decades, it was time to let go and move on.
“You get that feeling,” he said. “Last year became more of grind — not that I didn’t love football and love the kids, and watching them grow and develop. But I always told my wife, when it got to be the point where I was not having as much fun, it was time to step away. Let somebody a little younger to have a shot at it.”
And that somebody is new head coach Brandon Branch, who spent a decade on Galster’s staff.
“Coach Branch is going to do a great job,” Galster said. “He has a great knowledge of the game. He has enthusiasm with the kids. The kids relate to him very well. He is going to be a great leader. … I’ve watched him grow as a coach and it’s his time.”
(See an WKTV interview with Coach Branch, and new Kelloggsville athletic director Eric Alcorn, on the latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection.)
Memories, and a special moment, on the Rockets’ field
When in comes to memorable games on the Rockets’ field, leading his 30 Rockets teams, there is no shortage of memories for Galster.
The Rockets at practice in 2018. (WKTV)
The Rockets were 10-1 in 2009 and 2017, and won the school’s first playoff game in program history in 2009 — in that season, one game, was played in a driving rainstorm with a quarterback who could throw strikes “in a hurricane,” he said, during an interview on the Rockets’ field.
Then there was his first game as a head coach, against Hopkins, a five-overtime battle “we could have won … but it didn’t happen,” he said. “But we were able to get them back. It was the year 2000, we beat them in triple overtime, down at that end zone (pointing down the field), we blocked a field goal.”
And, of course, there was the 2017 team. Kelloggsville scored a school record 451 points that season, then beat Godwin Heights in the postseason before losing to eventual Division 4 state champion Catholic Central, 45-34, in the district finals.
“The 2017 game, versus Catholic Central, the playoffs, where — I still feel — we were the two best teams in the state of Michigan in Division 4. We got down by quite a bit an our kids battled back … (but) they nosed us out in the second half. That was a great game.”
But, Galster confided, there is one game that was particular emotional.
“One game that always brings a tear to my eye,” he said. “It was 1995. We were a .500 team, you know, and we were playing Comstock Park. We scored with inside a minute and half, a minute, to win the game. My wife was pregnant with my youngest daughter, and the weekend prior she had some complications. … It gets down to Friday and the doctor says she could not go the game. … We are all celebrating at the end (after the win). She had parked over at the 48th Street park and she sneaked in. And I turned around, celebrating with the team, and there she was. It always chokes me up.”
Moving on to another coaching experience
Galster’s move to softball coaching, at the college level, may seem a strange landing sport for a longtime football coach, but people who know him well probably would say “That’s Coach.”
His softball coaching experience includes 10 years as a head softball coach for the Grand Rapids Blaze at 18U, 16U and 14U levels, according to the Aquinas sports website. He also served as an assistant varsity softball coach at East Kentwood High School for 12 years.
“I’ve done football for 37 years … but softball, stepping into a different arena, increasing my knowledge of the game,” is what he’s looking forward to, he said. “I have three daughters. They played softball and that is how I learned the game. I coached them in high school and travel ball. It has become my second passion.
“Football is always going to be my passion. … (But) athletes are athletes. Hopefully they are going to work hard, they are going to trust you as a coach. You show them respect and they will show you respect.”
And so it comes full circle: showing respect from the kids, gaining the respect of the kids — remembering the kids — for Coach Galster, that is what it will always be about.
A week after the announcement that high school football competition will have to wait until spring 2021 — at the earliest — an expected announcement by the Michigan High School Athletic Association on whether girls volleyball, boys soccer, and girls swimming and diving would be allowed in Wyoming and Kentwood high schools is being delayed until at least next week.
According to a statement today, Aug. 20, from the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), its Representative Council has “approved the start of competition in girls volleyball, boys soccer and girls swimming & diving in regions of Michigan authorized for that activity by Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders, with competition in those sports pending in regions where those activities are not yet allowed” as part of state actions preventing spread of COVID-19.
“Our Council has made clear it is ready to offer students these opportunities, pending approval from Governor Whitmer that we may do so,” Mark Uyl, MHSAA executive director, said in supplied material. “We have been told that within a week, future guidance will address athletic issues that exist in current executive orders. We are awaiting that guidance.”
Schools in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula — designated as Regions 6 and 8, respectively, by Gov. Whitmer’s executive orders — are allowed to begin competition this week, on Aug. 21, as originally scheduled.
But schools in all other regions (1-5, and 7) must delay any competition for the time being, according to the announcement. Kent County is in Region 2.
Lee High School soccer practice (from 2019). (WKTV)
Local high school volleyball, soccer and swim teams may continue outdoor practice, “pending further executive orders allowing for the opening of indoor facilities and physical distancing while competing in those areas,” according to the announcement.
Teams began outdoor practice in volleyball, soccer, swimming and diving, cross country, golf and tennis on Aug. 12. Lower Peninsula girls golf and boys tennis could have began competition Aug. 19, with cross country competition beginning Aug. 21.
Football practice began Aug. 10, but on Aug. 14 the Representative Council voted to postpone the Fall 2020 football season to Spring 2021, also due to COVID-19 concerns.
MHSAA staff, according to the announcement, was authorized by executive order to create all guidance for a return of school sports, “and over the last eight weeks has worked to fulfill this mandate while complying with all of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders. The Council was prepared today to approve competition in volleyball, soccer and swimming & diving for all schools in all regions, but was unable to do so because of questions remaining on which activities are still not allowed.”
So the MHSAA, like local high school athletes, coaches and parents, continues to wait state government action.
“The MHSAA and Representative Council are committed to following all current and future Executive Orders and safety precautions,” Uyl said in supplied material. “However, we need more answers before we can give all of our member schools the go-ahead to play each other again, and the majority of our schools are in regions that are not yet allowed to take part in volleyball, soccer and swim.”
Extra coach contact, practice days for football and others
Also in the MHSAA announcement, it was stated that the MHSAA Representative Council did approve out-of-season coaching adjustments allowing football and spring sports coaches more contact with their athletes in advance of the 2021 season.
East Kentwood High School’s football team (shown at practice from the 2019-20 season). (WKTV)
To provide additional offseason activity for sports that have had their full seasons canceled or moved, the council approved 16 contact days for football and all spring sports to be used for voluntary practices among students from the same school only.
Football may schedule their contact days from Aug. 24 through Oct 31. Spring sports — baseball, softball, girls soccer, track and field, girls and boys lacrosse, boys golf, Lower Peninsula girls tennis — may schedule their 16 contact days for voluntary practices from Sept. 8 to Oct. 31, “if the school permits and all safety protocols are followed.”
Football and all spring sports then may conduct skill work with coaches and up to four players at a time beginning Nov. 1 until the first day of official practice this upcoming spring. Coaches also may work with an unlimited number of players on general conditioning during that time.
A calendar for the inclusion of football into Spring 2021 is expected to be released later this fall, “upon Council approval at a later meeting,” according to the announcement.
The Wyoming Public Schools Board of Education last week approved a Return to School Plan which details that students will begin the 2020-21 school year Aug. 25, but students of parents who choose that their children receive in-school classroom education will not be in school and in class until Sept. 8 at the earliest.
Wyoming Public Schools Superintendent Craig Hoekstra. (Supplied)
“I am thankful for the many administrators, staff members, parents, and community members who worked together on such an important plan,” Wyoming Public Schools Superintendent Craig Hoekstra said in an Aug. 10 letter to the community, shared with WKTV. “The WPS Safe Start Reentry Plan … is a result of much thoughtful planning and preparation that centers around the health, safety, and well-being of our students, staff, and families.
“We know that in this unprecedented time of COVID-19, providing families with the choice between in-person and virtual learning allows you to choose what you feel is best for your student(s) and family, while still supporting their academic progress. It is my hope that when you read through the plan, your questions are answered and you are assured we are committed to supporting your child(ren) academically, while taking necessary precautions to keep everyone safe.”
Last week’s letter also reiterated that the first two weeks of remote learning “are not intended to be a (remote learning) trial period,” echoing a letter from the Superintendent’s office which was sent to WPS families on Aug. 4, when parents were asked to select their choice for their students to begin the school either in-class or virtually by Aug. 10.
“What you select by August 10 is your intent for either the first quarter (K-4th grade), or the first semester (5th-12th grade) of the school year,” Superintendent Hoekstra said in the Aug. 4 letter. “Beginning September 8, students will participate in either in-person or 100 percent virtual learning based on what families chose when registering their child(ren).
The WPS plan is the result of the work of five subcommittees, working on specific areas, which made recommendations to the WPS Safe Schools Committee on how the district would meet Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s guidelines for a safe return for staff and students.
One of the specific items addressed in the Return to School Plan was changes from the quickly implemented spring 2020 remote-learning system to this fall’s remote-learning system.
“Although some aspects of remote learning will be similar to our students’ experiences in the spring of 2020 (following school closure in March), there will be meaningful differences in expectations, structure, and rigor of remote learning during the 2020-21 school year,” according to the plan document, also shared with WKTV.
Among the changes made for those students being taught remotely are, according to the plan document, increased accountability in areas such as attendance, grading and schedule — including a set schedule with more structure — as well as ongoing assessment and feedback, and a “single learning management system for instruction, assignments and communication.”
The plan document also details issues such as health and safety, including health screenings, the requirement for social distancing and face coverings, and personal hygiene. It also details some non-classroom facets of education such as technology availability, transporting via bus, food services, and safety during athletics and activities.
The district also set up a question and answer link on its website to deal with specific questions and concerns from parents.
For more information on the Wyoming Public Schools plan and its Q&A page, visit WyomingPS.org.
Kent County’s COVID Relief Subcommittee, drawing on a nearly $115 million federal CARES Act grant sent to the county earlier this year, approved a $2 million allocation to be used by county schools to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) “to assist schools in dealing with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.”
According to a July 30 county statement, the next step will be consideration and expected approval by the Kent County Commission’s Finance Committee, and then the full Board of Commissioners at its next meeting on Aug. 27. Most Kent County school districts are expected to be open by that date.
The funds would be allocated to public, private and charter schools, Board of Commissioners chair Mandy Bolter said to WKTV, and while allotment “details are still being finalized but in our initial discussions we would most likely use the last student count submitted by the schools to the state.”
The county COVID Relief Subcommittee members include commissioners Bolter, Stan Stek, Diane Jones, Emily Brieve, Roger Morgan, Jim Talen, Phil Skaggs, and Robert Womack.
“As schools consider how to reopen this fall, the safety and mental health of our children are the primary concerns of every parent I know,” Commissioner Bolter said in supplied material. “By allocating this funding, we can be part of the solution to keep our kids and teachers as safe as possible and help to bring back some normalcy in this crazy time.”
The Kent County Board of Commissioners has previously allocated CARES funding for other programs to assist specific segments of the county during the coronavirus pandemic, including funds being allocated to assist in small businesses recovery, for use by non-profit organizations services and shelter assistance groups, and a business PPE program.
For more information about the CARES Act and related Kent County efforts, visit accesskent.com.
Kentwood Public Schools latest back-to-school plans, announced in a district-wide letter July 27, includes a two-week remote/virtual education period for all students as the district prepares for a possible return to in-school learning and parents can have more information before making their decision on having their students attend school at home or in classrooms.
Superintendent Michael Zoerhoff, Kentwood Public schools. (Supplied/KPS)
“Kentwood Public Schools is bound by the directives from the Governor’s Office, the Michigan Department of Education and the various Health Departments,” Kentwood Public Schools Superintendent Michael Zoerhoff said in the letter from his office. “Since the guidelines from the Governor’s Office are yet to be finalized, KPS planning has to remain highly flexible.”
The district conducted several parent surveys over the past several months, according to the letter, and the “results identified a split perspective. Many families want school to start with ‘in person’ learning; while others want to start with remote/virtual learning.”
As of July 27, Kent County is labeled to be in “Phase 4” of the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reopening plan, which means schools may open for in-person learning. with restrictions. But if the Governor moves to the county to “Phase 3” then schools must stop all in-person learning and go completely to remote learning.
According to the district letter, the current plan begins school on Monday, Aug. 24, with all students involved in remote/virtual learning for the first two weeks. On Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day, parents can choose to shift their student to the option of in-person learning.
The stated reasons for the two-week remote/virtual beginning of school include:
In addition to being introduced to the academic content that will be studied for the term, the first two weeks will be focused on training students and staff on the safety protocols and cleaning procedures for a safe in-person return.
Students and staff will learn “positive habits and behaviors” for successful remote learning should in-person learning be shut down and virtual learning become the only option.
Those households intending to use the remote/virtual learning option will be able to have computers delivered to students needing a device, and families will have an opportunity to evaluate our new remote learning platforms and compare them, to “make an informed choice when in person learning becomes an option on September 8.”
“Kentwood Public Schools will also have time to observe and learn from those area districts that engage in person student learning immediately,” according the letter. “We can benefit from seeing what others do or fail to do.”
Mask and busing policy detailed
If in-school education is available and chosen, the Governor’s current Return To School requirements are that students and staff in grades 6-12 must wear a face mask if they are attending in-person learning, and students in grades K-5 will be “strongly encouraged” to wear a face mask.
Kentwood Public Schools “has worked with our business partners and Spectrum Health to purchase many approved face masks for those who do not have one, forget to bring it to school or lose their mask,” according to the district.
And while busing will be provided for students who attend in-class school, “we will follow the requirements in the Governor’s Return To School regarding social distancing and face mask covernings. This will require us all to be flexible as there will be a limited number of students allowed on each bus run. Those bus runs will be published and communicated once we know how many families need transportation.”
While the exact mode of education for Kentwood Public Schools students is in flux, Superintendent Zoerhoff, in the letter, made clear the district’s ultimate goal.
“Kentwood Public Schools, together with parents and the community, will educate all students in a safe, secure environment,” he said. “We are committed to excellence, equity and diversity in education. Our goal is for each student to master and apply the essential skills to be a successful, productive citizen.
“These challenging times will pass, but the quality education that your children receive at KPS will serve them for a lifetime.”
For more information on Kentwood Public School’s back-to-school plans and other COIVID-19 related district communications visit kentwoodps.org/covid-info.
East Kentwood High School’s football team (shown at practice from the 2019-20 season) and other local football programs will have restrictions on how they practice in August due to the COVOD-19 situation. (WKTV)
The Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Representative Council announced July 29 a continuation of its “phased-in practice and competition” schedule for traditional fall high school sports “in hopes of continuing to deter the spread of COVID-19.”
The Council affirmed that lower-risk sports — including Wyoming and Kentwood area high school girls golf, boys tennis, cross country, and girls swimming & diving — may begin practice on Aug. 12 and begin competition on their traditional start dates of Aug. 19 and 21.
However, moderate and high-risk sports — football, girls volleyball and boys soccer – may begin practice, with limitations, but not competitions until additional decisions by the MHSAA, expected to be made by Aug. 20.
In addition, recommendations on spectator attendance will follow before the start of competition, according to the MHSAA statement, and it is possible “spectators will be limited in accordance with Governor (Gretchen) Whitmer’s executive orders on large gatherings.”
According to the July 29 statement, practice for boys soccer and girls volleyball may begin on Aug. 12, but football will delay the start of practice with full player pads and equipment until Monday, Aug. 17. The week of Aug. 10 “may include football practice sessions consisting of conditioning, physical training and skill work with no other player equipment except helmets. This week of acclimatization is similar to allowed summer football activities that have been ongoing for schools since June.”
David Kool, the new South Christian athletic director, on the set of WKTV Journal Sports Connection. (WKTV)
David Kool, athletic director at South Christian High School, told WKTV he welcomed the expanded clarity as to what his school’s teams and student athletes can and cannot do — “All in all, this was a very positive step for high school athletics in Michigan.”
“It is great to know that all fall sports will be able to begin practicing on time to a certain extent,” Kool said. “We are thrilled that golf, tennis, cross country and swimming can begin practice and competitions without delay. Soccer and volleyball are also able to begin practice without delay which is great news.
“Football, being in a helmet-only (practice restriction) for an extra week, is a great decision and made sense for our student athletes. The next step is getting encouraging news on August 20 that soccer, volleyball and football may begin competitions and we are hopeful that will happen.”
Limits also placed on scrimmages, tournaments and invitationals
Among the other actions announced by the Representative Council, the MHSAA’s 19-member legislative body, was the cancelations of scrimmages in all fall sports for this school year, and limitations on numbers of teams that may compete together at regular-season tournaments, invitationals and other multi-team events.
“The Council believed eliminating scrimmages emphasized the importance of keeping teams from mixing before the first date of competition, and the regular-season limitations may lessen opportunities for viral spread while still allowing meets to be conducted,” according to the MHSAA statement.
The expected Aug. 20 decision on competition for football, girls volleyball and boys soccer is “dependent on how the spread of the virus is trending statewide”, including “sustained metrics measuring virus spread and/or progression by schools and regions across the state according to Gov. Whitmer’s MI Safe Start Plan,” according to the statement.
“The Council, reflecting on the positive impact on their athletes this summer from taking part in offseason training, feels it’s of utmost importance to continue athletic activity moving forward,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said in supplied material. “If we take a month off, our students will find opportunities to compete through non-school entities that may not be as focused on safety. Our athletic directors and coaches can provide the safest-possible environment to return to sports, and this phased-in approach to competition will help schools continue building on progress already made”
The MHSAA also has posted sport-by-sport guidance documents outlining increased precautions designed to limit the viral spread, plus a four-page overview with precautions that apply generally for all sports.
Specific sport guidelines and the overview are available on the respective sport pages of the MHSAA website, at mhsaa.com/sports.
Wyoming Public Schools held a WHS Senior 11 Night Celebration Parade Monday, June 15, and WKTV was there. (WKTV)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
As part of its effort to recognize the Wyoming High School Senior Class of 2020 despite the COVID-19 school shutdown in the spring, Wyoming high will hold a special graduation ceremony on Tuesday, July 28.
While the ceremony at Wyoming High School will be accessible in-person for only 2020 seniors, and limited family and friends, it will be available on radio and on a Facebook livestream feed with video provided by WKTV Community media.
“We are excited to recognize and celebrate the Wyoming High School graduating class of 2020,” Josh Baumbach, Wyoming High School principal, said to WKTV. “Our seniors missed out on some pretty significant events this year as a result of the pandemic and it’s important to us to do what we can to provide a ceremony for our seniors and their families to attend.
“Although this ceremony will be different due to restrictions on gatherings and other social distancing protocols that will be in place, it will be an opportunity for the seniors to cross the stage and celebrate with their family and we hope this will provide some closure as the graduating class of 2020 moves forward to the next stage in their lives.”
WKTV was also on-hand when Wyoming Public Schools held its Wyoming High School Senior 11 Night Celebration Parade June 15. See a story and video here.
The planned July 28 ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. with welcome and opening remarks and speeches.
“Participants can listen to the speeches with their families in their vehicles on the radio or via live stream,” Baumbach said. “After the speeches, each senior will be able to walk into the stadium with their immediate family to cross the stage and pick up their diploma cover. Parents and family can capture the moment with a video or a picture.”
The ceremony can be viewed using this live stream link. The audio of the ceremony will also be available on 94.1 FM station.
The ceremony will include individual students walking across a stage in cap and gown to get a diploma cover. Once all student names have been called, and all students are in their cars, students will step back out of their car and the entire Wyoming High School graduating class of 2020 will be recognized and will be asked to flip their tassel.
Baumbach also said the event is also a great example of cooperation and collaboration within the Wyoming Public Schools system and with other school districts.
“We appreciate the collaboration with Grandville High School and Godwin Heights High School as we planned our event,” Baumbach said. “Additionally, special thanks goes out to our (WPS) Superintendent Craig Hoekstra and the many wonderful staff members that are part of our high school and district staff that helped step up to support this planning.”
WKTV Sports has debuted a new sports show focused on local high school sports, WKTV Journal Sports Connection. On its inaugural episode, WKTV volunteer sports announcer Cory Dalton is joined by fellow announcers Greg Yoder and Mike Moll, and together they catch us up on the past, present and future of Grand Rapids South Christian athletics.
ON the set of WKTV Journal Sports Connection, WKTV’s Greg Yoder talks with Curt Copeland, left, currently a teacher and coach at South Christian but, prior to that, he was the school’s athletic director for seven years. (WKTV)
First up, Yoder talks with Curt Copeland, currently a teacher and coach at South Christian but, prior to that, as the school’s athletic director for seven years, he guided the Sailors athletic program to on-field success as well the challenges of change — including moving into a new high school building and athletic facilities.
David Kool, the new South Christian athletic director, on the set of WKTV Journal Sports Connection. (WKTV)
Then Moll, WKTV’s volunteer sports director, talks with David Kool, the new South Christian athletic director, about his history at the school — and the 2006 graduate has quite a history, having led the Sailors to two state championships on the basketball court.
On the WKTV set, Kool talked his goals, the challenges of high school sports in time of COVID-19, and when the Sailors football team might be playing on their own home field.
The inaugural episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection is hosted by WKTV volunteer sports announcer Cory Dalton. (WKTV)
“This fall, we’ll be bringing you interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports,” Dalton said about being one of the hosts and interviewers on WKTV Journal Sports Connection. “And remember, you can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting WKTVjournal.com/sports.”
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of highs school athletic events and other sports, at WKTV.viebit.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 25 (For dates and times on Channel 25, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also usually available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
At this point, the MHSAA has not ruled out a high school football season, so practice for Wyoming High School’s football team, shown her in action from 2019, is still scheduled to start in August. (Curtis Holt)
Late last week, the Michigan High School Athletic Association advised member schools of its decision that the state will begin the 2020-21 school year playing ‘fall sports as traditionally scheduled, but with contingency concepts for potential interruptions due to the spread of COVID-19.”
Bottomline for high school football fans: football teams can begin on-field practice in early August, as usual, and games will be played starting the week of Aug. 24. But …
“However, if the situation deems it necessary, the start of some or all fall sports practices or competitions could be delayed,” according to the MHSAA July 17 statement.
What does that mean for Wyoming and Kentwood athletic teams? At this point, when school districts are still working on re-opening plans, Wyoming high athletic director Ted Hollern says his teams are preparing for a normal fall but be ready for changes.
“We are moving forward, so far as everything is going to take place, with normal planning,” Hollern said to WKTV.
According to the MHSAA statement, the MHSAA Representative Council, the Association’s 19-member legislative body, met virtually with MHSAA staff July 15 to discuss a series of ideas for playing sports beginning in August. The Council will meet again July 29 for further discussion.
Currently, high school football practices are scheduled to begin Aug. 10, with all other fall sports to start practice Aug. 12.
The council considered a concept that would swap traditional fall and spring sports, but determined that was “not a feasible plan.”
The MHSAA is moving forward with a plan that first calls for all fall sports to be started and played as scheduled.The next step in the plan’s progression calls for lower-risk fall sports that can be played to be completed, with higher-risk fall sports postponed until later in the school year.
“If all fall sports must be suspended, they will be rescheduled during a reconfigured calendar that would see winter sports begin in November followed by the conclusion of fall and spring seasons potentially extending into July 2021,” according to the statement.
Football, girls volleyball, girls swimming & diving, and boys soccer during the fall are considered moderate or high-risk sports because they “include athletes in close contact or are played indoors.” Several traditional spring sports — girls soccer ,and girls and boys lacrosse — carry a similar high-risk sport designation.
Plans remain reliant on progression by schools and regions across the state according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Safe Start Plan. To start this week, two regions are in Phase 5, which allow for limited indoor activity, while the rest are in Phase 4 and unable to host indoor training, practice or competition.
“Our student-athletes just want to play, and we’ve gone far too long without them playing. But doing so safely, of course, remains the priority,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said in supplied material. “Our plan moving forward is fall in the fall, starting on time. We’re excited to continue moving forward to bring back sports safely. It’s important for keeping students in our schools and keeping students in our sports programs.
“We remain grateful to the Governor for the opportunity to build the schedule and policies for returning sports to schools. We will continue to support her directives and those of the state and local health departments as we work to create the safest environment for all involved in our activities.”
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (D&HHS) in Grand Rapids didn’t want to cancel an annual summer camp that deaf kids have been part of in person, but then COVID-19 happened.
So a summer camp for both deaf and hearing kids will happen virtually in 2020 — “a week’s worth of excitement and education,” according to a statement from the organization.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services community education coordinator Nancy Piersma, left, with Kenny in background, at John Ball Zoo. (D&HHS)
Recently, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services’ community and partnerships manager, Erica Chapin, was out and about in Grand Rapids with community education coordinator Nancy Piersma (a native deaf facilitator who uses sign language to communicate) and a film crew, plus some special guests, filming at John Ball Zoo, Blandford Nature Center, HOPE Gardens community garden and The Grand Rapids Children’s Museum.
“Through these videos, kids will be able to learn and experience something new,” Chapin said in supplied material. “Each day Nancy teaches new signs related to the theme, making Kids Kamp videos a great opportunity for children to have increased exposure to language. Every video is in ASL, with English interpretation and closed captioning, to offer accessibility to anyone who wants to watch.”
From July 13-17 those videos will be rolled out for free on the D&HHS YouTube channel. But kids who buy a Kenny’s Kids Kamp Kurious Kit for $30 will be able to complete a number of crafts and activities at home as they watch the videos, according to the statement.
“Kenny is our Kids Kamp friend who is coming along with us for our adventures,” Chapin said. “He is a stuffed animal monkey. Throughout our videos you can see him playing in the background. Sometimes he is easy to find; other times he is hidden away. The kids have to keep an eye on him and at the end of the week we will announce how many times he was seen.”
Each Kenny’s Kids Kamp Kurious Kit will include a 2020 Kids Kamp t-shirt, snacks and drinks for each day, ASL vocabulary related to the video adventures, crafts, a children’s book and other fun activities to promote learning. In addition, according to the D&HHS statement, the purchase of a Kurious Kit enters each purchaser into a daily drawing for bonus prizes from the video locations that include fun for the whole family.
D&HHS will also be offering scholarships and seeking donors to underwrite kits. Anyone who would like to apply for a scholarship for a kit can contact Deb Atwood, executive director, at datwood@deafhhs.org.
Also, on the Kids Kamp sign-up page, people can purchase a kit for a child directly, said Chapin. For more information visit here.
Questions about Kids Kamp should be directed to Erica Chapin, Community & Partnerships Manager, at 616-732-7358, x211 or community@deafhhs.org.
“And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air … Gave proof thru the night that our flag was still there … Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave … O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
The Star Spangled Banner
The day it all got started
In honor of the 244th 4th of July since American independence was declared against Great Britain, WKTV Journal is sharing with you a Youtube clip from the HBO miniseries, “John Adams” that features the reading of the Declaration after it’s passage on the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
(City of Kentwood)
Watch a parade from your (Kentwood) lawn
The City of Kentwood announced to WKTV this week that a dozen or so city vehicles will parade throughout the community on Saturday, July 4, as a way “to celebrate Independence Day safely in lieu of its traditional celebration activities this year.” Go here for the story.
(Kent County Animal Shelter)
Take care of your pets when things go ‘boom!’
The Kent County Animal Shelter has published a video with steps on how to help pets cope with fireworks.
Catch some fireworks, but play it safe
4th of July fireworks and other “responsible fun” is available this weekend. Go here and here for stories.
Fun fact:
150 million
According to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, on the Fourth of July alone, 150 million dogs get consumed – enough to stretch between L.A. and Washington, D.C., more than five times. Source.
Some people may have been waiting, if not eagerly anticipating, the June 30 release of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “MI Safe Schools Return to School Roadmap”, which outlined a number of safety protocols for schools to implement in each phase of the governor’s MI Safe Start Plan.
While local school district leaders undoubtedly will scour the governor’s roadmap for pertinent details and direction, they and their district staff were not idly awaiting the release — after all, Gov. Whitmer admits that different school districts will have different “return to school” situations depending on location within the state, physical building situation and their community make up.
“In Kentwood Public Schools we put together a Back To School Task Force consisting of administrators, teachers and parents that have been working on multiple plans for the reopening of our district,” Michael Zoerhoff, superintendent of Kentwood Public Schools, said to WKTV. “We also have been working closely with the Kent ISD reopening committees. Our plan is to adjust accordingly to ensure the safety of our students and staff per the Governor’s recommendations.”
Wyoming Public Schools superintendent, Craig Hoekstra, echoed his regional educational counterpart.
“The WPS team has been hard at work developing plans that will provide safe and accessible learning options for the fall,” Hoekstra said to WKTV. “As we prepare for re-entry, our district continues to plan forward with a focus on developing a robust online learning option as well as preparing for instructional re-entry for in-person learning. In doing so, it takes into consideration the unfinished learning from the spring. As soon as the Governor’s plan is released, we will review our plans and make the needed adjustments as we work towards finalization.”
The governor’s roadmap outlines a number of safety protocols for schools to implement in each phase of the governor’s MI Safe Start Plan — including guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE), hygiene and cleaning protocols, spacing in classrooms, athletics, and much more.
As far as fall high school sports is concerned, at a press conference announcing the governor’s back-to-school guidance, Gov. Whitmer said she is in discussion with the Michigan High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) to possibly move some fall 2020 sports to spring 2021.
Detailed guidance on fall athletics — including any possible shift of sports season — is expected to be announced in mid- to late-July by the MHSAA, which has been working with the governor’s office to guide summer and possible fall in-school athletic activities.
Also on June 30, the governor signed Executive Order 2020-142, which “provides a structure to support all schools in Michigan as they plan for a return of PreK-12 education in the fall,” according to a statement from the Governor’s office Tuesday.
(Links to the governor’s MI Safe Schools Return to School Roadmap and Executive Order 2020-142 are at the end of this story.)
“Our students, parents, and educators have made incredible sacrifices during our battle with COVID-19,” Gov. Whitmer said in the statement. “Thanks to our aggressive action against this virus, the teachers who have found creative ways to reach their students, and the heroes on the front lines, I am optimistic that we will return to in-person learning in the fall.
“The MI SafeSchools Return to School Roadmap will help provide schools with the guidance they need as they enact strict safety measures to continue protecting educators, students, and their families.”
In her statement, the governor also acknowledged the financial impact on schools not only to enact “safe return to school” in the fall, but the looming financial shortfalls in state school funding due to the economic impact of COVID-19.
“I will continue working closely with the Return to Learn Advisory Council and experts in epidemiology and public health to ensure we get this right, but we also need more flexibility and financial support from the federal government,” Gov. Whitmer said in supplied material. “This crisis has had serious implications on our budget, and we need federal support if we’re going to get this right for our kids.”
(To learn more about the possible financial impact on school funding of the COVID-19 economic downturn, see a WKTV story and Kent ISD videos here.)
Two local education leaders are part of the Return to Learn Advisory Council, including Kevin Polston, superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, and Nicholas J. Paradiso, vice president of government relations for National Heritage Academies.
“All of us on the Return to Learn Advisory Council share a commitment to marrying science and evidence, and practicality and local needs to ensure the health and safety of our students and educators,” Tonya Allen, President and CEO of The Skillman Foundation and Chair of the Return to Learn Advisory Council, said in supplied material.
The governor’s Executive Order 2020-142 requires school districts to adopt a COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan “laying out how they will protect students and educators across the various phases of the Michigan Safe Start Plan.”
The MI Safe Schools Return to School Roadmap offers guidelines as to the types of safety protocols that will be required or recommended at each phase, according to the statement.
“In recognition that these protocols will cost money, the Governor also announced that she was allocating $256 million to support the districts in implementing their local plans as part of the bipartisan budget agreement the Senate Majority Leader, the Speaker of the House, and the governor announced” June 29.
The story of a 2019 cooperative project between the City of Kentwood police department and the Kentwood Public Schools Red Storm Robotics team, a robot that reached full operation in 2020, was a good news story early this year.
And despite Kentwood schools, and WKTV Journal, seeing big changes in how they did business starting in March due to the COVID-19 restrictions, it is still a good news story — a tool for Kentwood police to help them make better decisions in the field and an example of the high level of interaction between the city’s schools and city staff that Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley relentlessly advocates for.
“What I love about this is always investing in the next generation,” Mayor Kepley said in March when WKTV was producing a video project on the Red Storm Robotics project with the police department. “And this is just another opportunity, and really a great opportunity, to invest in the next generation. … The city working with the school, working with professionals, using technology, and more importantly investing in the very individuals who will be leading this community in the future.”
The police robot project is a prime example of not only engagement with the students but of also giving advanced students a lesson in real-world, on-the-job, design of robotic technology.
Of course, Red Storm was up to the challenge presented by the police department.
WKTV talked with Mayor Kepley, Kentwood Police Chief Richard Roberts and Sgt. Jeff Leonard, and instructors/parents of the Red Storm Robotics project, including Adam Veenendaal, Mark VanderVoord and Wendy Ljungern.
But most importantly, we talked with students of the program past and present, including Jason Gray-Moore, Kerim Puczek, Jacobi Thompson and Annalise Welch.
For more information on Kentwood Pubic Schools’ Red Storm Robotics program visit their website at redstormrobotics.com.
The Kent Intermediate Superintendents’ Association, during a Tuesday, June 23, teleconference, released the results of a survey of more than 30,000 Kent ISD area parents asking questions related to the school reopening issues.
The bottom line of the extensive survey (link at end of story), according to a summary shared with media during the teleconference, is that while some parents seek continued distance learning for various reasons including their child’s safety, the majority desired “safe, in-school” education for their children.
“Most parents would like to see a return to school as normal in late August,” Ron Caniff, superintendent of Kent ISD, said in supplied material. “Our superintendents are working to ensure a safe opening, researching all information regarding the steps necessary to protect students and staff, and will remain connected with the health department and parents throughout the summer to ensure they are well informed about school re-opening plans.”
Kent ISD website photo. (Supplied)
The survey results come in preparation for the planned release June 30 of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap”, which is expected to set state directives for the reopening of schools in August.
The survey, commissioned by the Kent ISD on behalf of the superintendents’ association and administered by Gartner Marketing, was conducted from May 29 through June 10. The 30,000 responses represent parents from the 20 public school districts across Kent ISD but did not include any private or charter school parents, according to the Kent ISD.
The Kent Intermediate Superintendents’ Association (KISA) Future Learning Committee hosted the meeting. The speakers included Superintendent Caniff; Kevin Polston, Superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, KISA Future Committee Chair and member of the Governor’s Return to Learn Advisory Council; Sunil Joy, Data Scientist at Kent ISD; and Ron Koehler, Education Consultant and former Kent ISD Assistant Superintendent.
The Kent Intermediate Superintendents’ Association represents the superintendents Kent ISD and each of the 20 school districts it serves.
Survey summary results highlights
Among the key findings of the survey, according to the KISA summary (link at end of story), is that parents want to see school open in the fall, in a traditional face- to-face setting; continued parental concerns about safety will likely necessitate an online option; and a hybrid option has many of the same challenges as an online learning option and “It is also not highly preferred by parents.”
Part of the reason for a hybrid option — where students would spend part of their time in school and part of their time at learning remotely — is that there would be little cost savings on the part of the districts currently facing possible loss of state funding due to COVID-19’s economic impact. (See a WKTV story on the possible funding losses here.) And there would be little difference between the costs of an in-person or hybrid option.
Kevin Polston, Superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, KISA Future Committee Chair and member of the Governor’s Return to Learn Advisory Council. (Supplied)
“We know that hybrid and in-person costs are going to be very similar,” Superintendent Polston said during the teleconference, “because even though you may have fewer students back each day you still have your full compliment of staff the needs to be back each day.
“And, in addition, for a district like Godfrey-Lee, … we served more meals closed than we did open. That means for the students that aren’t at school each day are still going to need the nutritional services that schools provide. So we are going to need to allocate additional resources.”
The survey summary presented at the teleconference (link at bottom of the story) was, as explained by the Kent ISD’s Sunil Joy, a “stratified random sample of 800 respondents … (that was) … representative of the demographic makeup of our region.”
Sunil Joy, Data Scientist at Kent ISD. (Supplied)
“A random stratified sample just is a statistical method to ensure the respondents to the survey actually look like the county’s demographics,” Joy said to WKTV. “For example, if East Grand Rapids parents made up a significant percentage of all respondents — that wouldn’t be very representative of our county as only a small percentage of our county is from East Grand Rapids. So that’s why it’s a stratified sample — so it’s more representative of our districts as whole.”
The survey data was also “disaggregated by respondent groups (e.g. race/ethnicity, special education, income, etc.)”
“This simply means that I reported data not just ‘overall’ but also for different respondent groups,” Joy said to WKTV. “For example, in the question of whether childcare is an issue if school did not open 100 percent this fall, I included both what parents said overall, but also by different grade-levels. As no surprise, parents of younger kids had greater concerns with childcare if school didn’t open normally in the fall.”
In addition to the overall, county wide survey results released at the teleconference, each district has access to their own district-specific reports.
“Each district will share the results in the way they see fit with their constituents,” Joy said to WKTV. “The best way to get them is to contact the district directly, if it is not already available on their website or social media.”
School Re-entry Plan
At the teleconference, and using the results of the survey as part of their guidance, the superintendents’ association also released a School Re-entry Plan, in both English and Spanish. (See links to both at bottom of the story.)
Among the highlights of the plan are: a “desire” to return to full-time, face-to-face instruction, per state health requirements; the intent to provide a high-quality online learning option for students and families; districts will share best practices in virtual instruction to maximize efficiency and quality; families who choose an online option will have continued access to local district extracurricular and co-curricular activities.
The plan also makes clear that a a hybrid option — a mix of face-to-face and online learning — is “not preferred and will be implemented if it is the only way to have in-person instruction as mandated by state executive order.”
Superintendent Polston, in summing up the position school districts could be put in come June 30 and the result of the Governor’s “Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap” plan, said the best interest of the students must and will come first.
“Regardless of the model for teaching and learning, together we must be ready to meet the challenge that awaits,” Polston said. “And we will.”
A term all-too familiar to educators is “Summer Brain Drain” — that students tend to regress in their educational skills over the summer school break. It is expected to be even more of problem with the final months of the 2019-20 school year moving to online learning instead of in-class learning, the so-called “COVID Slide”.
According to a 2019 article by GreatSchools.org, teachers spend an average of 4-to-8 weeks every fall reviewing materials students have studied but lost mastery of over the summer, and most fall behind particularly in math and spelling.
But again this summer, educators across Kent ISD are collaborating with partner organizations — including the Kent District Library — to turn a brain drain into a brain gain, and to keep learning going all summer for all students through the ISD’s free Summer Brain Gain program.
The program provides online learning, resources students can engage with on their own and printable packets available to students in grades K-12 in Kent County and beyond.
Registration for instructor-led courses is available by grade level for all public, private and homeschooled students began June 15. These courses and other learning opportunities continue to begin June and July and conclude Aug. 7.
“We have brought together experts in curriculum and instructions from all around Kent ISD to create courses, gather learning opportunities and connect families with resources appropriate for their students at every grade level,” Kelli Brockway, Director of Teaching and Learning at Kent ISD, said in supplied material. “The idea is to bridge the learning gap between June and the start of the new school year.”
Preliminary estimates suggest additional learning losses due to the pandemic, or “COVID slide” as it’s been called.
A report by Dr. Megan Kufeld and Dr. Beth Tarasawa for the Collaborative for Student Growth at NWEA suggests learning loss may range from 30 percent in reading, to more than 50 percent in math and in some grades, according to supplied material. It also suggests when students return in the fall, learning may be nearly a full year behind what likely would be observed in normal conditions.
Summer Brain Gain programs offered include GRASP, the Grand Rapids Public Schools Program for math and reading that is free for Kent ISD students this summer.
Connections to vetted online apps, resources and links to learning that children and teens can engage in on their own are also part of the program, according to Kent ISD. Summer Brain Gain also links students and families to educational offerings by area cultural and community organizations who are School News Network Education Everywhere partners such as John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Van Andel Institute, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park and more. All resources are located at kentisd.org/SummerBrainGain.
Printable packets and links to Kent ISD’s Summer Brain Gain program are available through partnerships with Kent District Library, Grand Rapids Public Library and Literacy Center of West Michigan. Packets can be ordered for printing and pick up at library locations throughout Grand Rapids and Kent County.
Through the Kent District Library partnership, students can order printed packets from their local KDL branch and KDL will print it and have it available for them to pick up. For more information visit here.
Registration is now open but the deadline to register for GRASP is June 30. Summer Brain Gain materials and connections will be available through Kent District Library, Grand Rapids Public Library and Literacy Center for West Michigan starting this week, on June 22.
Kent ISD is a regional educational service agency that provides instructional and administrative services to more than 300 schools, 20 public districts, three non-public districts, and many public school academies and non-public schools within the ISD’s boundaries.
For more informant about the Kent ISD, visit their website kentisd.org.
West Michigan’s Gilmore Car Museum, in promotional material for its exhibit “The Negro Motorist Green Book”, retells an often-told story about travel for African-Americans in the United State’s deep south in the middle years of the 1900s.
In the spring of 1946, Jack Roosevelt Robinson, former multi-sport standout at UCLA and a U.S. Army veteran, and his bride of two weeks were flying from Los Angeles to Florida for baseball’s spring training season — twice along the route they were bumped from flights so their seats could be occupied by passengers with white skin.
Historic photo identifying restaurant as for “White Trade Only”. Location and date unknown. (Library of Congress)
During a stopover in New Orleans, they were not allowed to eat in the “whites only” airport restaurant. After arriving in Florida, the driver ordered them to sit in the back of the bus.
But the Robinsons, Jackie — soon to wear the Brooklyn Dodgers’ No. 42 on his back — and Rachel, were not alone. African-Americans faced discrimination in many aspects of life, including lodging, dining, when trying to find a drinking fountain or a restroom or even when trying to buy gasoline for their cars.
And that era is the backdrop of the Gilmore’s exhibit “The Negro Motorist Green Book” comes into the picture — an exhibit focused on the book series “The Negro Travelers’ Green Book”.
History of the Green Book
According to supplied information, Victor Hugo Green published “The Negro Travelers’ Green Book” with a listing of places — some commercial, some private homes — where dark-skinned people could stay and eat, where they could buy gas and even which towns to avoid for their own safety.
The 1954 Green Book. (Gilmore)
Green, an African-American mail carrier in New York City started the series in the mid-1930s and his company kept it going until passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s.
Green and his wife were from Virginia and as they traveled to visit family, they encountered Jim Crow Era restrictions. He got the idea to start the series when a Jewish friend showed Green a guidebook used to avoid “gentile-only” establishments and Green started his Green Book. He enlisted mail carriers across the country to help him compile and update the listings.
Decades after the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery, African Americans continued to suffer unequal treatment, especially in the Deep South. Jim Crow Laws discriminated against blacks in nearly every aspect of public life, including travel.
The Gilmore exhibit
While many people saw the Academy Award winning movie “Green Book”, visitors to the Gilmore Car Museum can now learn more about the book and its role in black travel in an exhibit which opened in 2014 and has since gained much praise.
The Gilmore Car Museum’s Green Book Diorama. (Gilmore)
David Lyon, automotive historian and author, recently pointed out that Gilmore’s display is likely “the only Green Book exhibit at an automobile museum in this country, and perhaps the world,” according to the Gilmore.
The exhibit includes the life-like museum figures of a mother and daughter and — the Gilmore being a car museum after all — a classic and restored two-tone 1948 Buick sedan parked at an Esso filing station. Information panels provide details, a large video plays interviews with African-Americans who experienced discrimination while traveling and a copy of the Spring 1956 edition of a Green Book is there for museum visitors to examine.
“It’s a story that had been pretty much forgotten,” Jay Follis, Gilmore museum curator, said in supplied material. “We’ve had a tremendous number of people seeing it and saying, ‘I’ve never heard of this.’”
There’s a reason the gas station in the Gilmore museum diorama has an Esso pump. Esso was a brand of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company.
The 1942 Green Book. (Gilmore)
Follis explained that Esso had a program to help African-Americans buy and operate its service stations. Esso also provided offices and support for the staff that helped Green produce and publish his guides.
The Green Book diorama is one of two cultural exhibits that are a permanent part of the Gilmore museum’s display. The other — “The American Exodus” — focuses on the hardships of the Depression-era migration from the Midwestern “Dust Bowl” to the promised-land on the West Coast.
In addition to the Gilmore’s nearly 400 vehicles, many of them housed in historic buildings and re-created automobile dealerships, its 90-acre campus includes a vintage gasoline station and authentic 1941 Blue Moon Diner that serves lunch daily.
The Gilmore Car Museum is located at Hickory Corners, between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, for more information visit gilmorecarmusuem.org or call 269-671-5089.
In recognition of both a desire to honor Wyoming High School’s 2020 graduating seniors, and the importance of allowing the school staff and Wyoming community the opportunity to join the celebration, Wyoming Public Schools held a WHS Senior 11 Night Celebration Parade Monday, June 15.
In addition, Wyoming High School is scheduled to host its Class of 2020 commencement ceremony on July 28 at Grand Rapids First.
Prior to the parade, WKTV caught up with WPS Superintendent Craig Hoekstra and asked about how the parade came to be, and the desire of he and the entire school community to make sure the seniors time of graduation was not “defined” by COVID-19 shutdown.
Continuing to provide some clarity to what K-12 public school education might look like in the fall — including a possible return to in-person learning — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced June 17 that she plans to announce on June 30 a “Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap” that will provide details on “what will be required and what will be recommended” for schools to reopen.
“Our students and educators have made incredible sacrifices these past few months to protect themselves and their families from the spread of COVID-19,” Gov. Whitmer said in supplied material. “I am optimistic that we will return to in-person learning in the fall … (but) schools must make sure to enact strict safety measures to continue protecting educators, students, and their families.
Gov. Whitmer also said her office is working with the Return to Learn Advisory Council and leaders in health care “to ensure we get this right,” but that the state also needs more flexibility and support from the federal government.
“This crisis has had serious implications on our budget, and we need federal support if we’re going to get this right for our kids,” Gov. Whitmer said.
On May 15, Gov. Whitmer, buy executive order, created the COVID-19 Return to School Advisory Council. On June 3, the governor announced a group of 25 leaders in health care and education to serve on the advisory council. Local persons on the council include Kevin Polston, superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, and Nicholas J. Paradiso, vice president of government relations for National Heritage Academies.
The advisory council was created to “identify the critical issues that must be addressed, provide valuable input to inform the process of returning to school, and to ensure a smooth and safe transition back to school,” according to the governor’s statement.
“The most important thing we can do when developing a return to school plan is closely examine the data and remain vigilant in our steps to fight this virus,” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services chief deputy for health, said in supplied material. “I will continue to work closely with Governor Whitmer and the Return to Learn Advisory Council to ensure we continue to put the health and safety of our students and educators first.”
Note: this is an update to the story as the original date of the event, June 11, was a storm washout and it was rescheduled to Monday, June 15.
Wyoming High School will host its WHS Class of 2020 commencement ceremony, scheduled for July 28 at Grand Rapids First, but first it will allow the community to celebrate local seniors with a WHS Senior 11 Night Celebration Parade Monday, June 15.
According to a June 10 statement from the Wyoming Public Schools office, the parade will begin at 8:20 p.m., with a caravan of Wyoming high seniors traveling Burlingame Avenue down Prairie Parkway, to the Wyoming Wolves football stadium parking lot, and then exit Prairie Parkway to Michael Avenue.
“Our Class of 2020 has experienced so much throughout the course of their successful journey to earning their high school diploma,” WPS Superintendent Craig Hoekstra said in supplied material. “This parade is one of the many ways our Wyoming Public Schools staff, and greater community, are showing them that we love and care about them, no matter the circumstance. We don’t want this pandemic to be the hallmark of their senior year.”
(Public Domain image)
District staff and members of the community will line the parade route to congratulate and celebrate the Class of 2020 and their families. Wyoming High School staff will be stationed along the gates of the football stadium and throughout the stadium parking lot near the concession stand. Those in attendance are encouraged to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Upon arrival at the football stadium, seniors will be given their high school diploma and awarded an Alpha Wolf 11 Champion of Character Award.
“Our hope is that each one of them knows now and remembers on their life’s journey that they were surrounded at all times by people who had an unwavering commitment to support and celebrate their success, every step of the way,” Hoekstra said. “I am very proud of this graduating class for staying committed to their studies, not losing focus on their goals, and demonstrating grit like no other class before them has had to. The perseverance that they have shown will serve them well as they do great things in our world.”
The WPS statement stressed that the parade does not replace the WHS Class of 2020 commencement ceremony scheduled for July 28, at 7 p.m., at Grand Rapids First.
For more information on Wyoming Public Schools visit wyomingps.org or follow them on social media: Facebook and Twitter @WolvesWPS and Instagram @WPSWolves.
Education leaders local and statewide are warning of what Superintendent Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Kevin Polston calls “unprecedented budget deficits” at Michigan public schools resulting from decreased tax revenues due to the COVID-19 economic crisis.
While the looming school funding concerns are just beginning to hit the news, the community may have some questions, need a little background and history.
Why will lower tax revenue impact public school funding? How does the state fund public schools? What is the recent history of changes in tax-payer funding of schools? How do public schools spend their state funding?
The Kent ISD recently produced informational videos that tries to explain the state’s taxpayer funded public school finances — including one specific to current school funding concerns. (See additional information videos descriptions and links below.)
Superintendent Polston, in a recent Godfrey-Lee schools community-wide email, makes clear the current — and urgent need — for community understanding and action on the current threat to public school funding. He also urges increased state and federal support for public schools.
“Without federal intervention, the budget shortfall for the remainder of 2019-2020 through 2021 school year would total $6.2 billion for all Michigan public schools. Godfrey-Lee alone could see a deficit of over $1.2 million ($700 per student) for just the 19-20 school year that is about to end,” Polston said. “Further cuts are projected for the 2020-21 school year that begins on July 1, 2020.
“Put in context, this is roughly twice as large a deficit as Michigan public schools faced in the Great Recession, yet federal aid to date has been less than 20 percent than was given at that time. In fact, of the $2 trillion of aid granted by the (federal COVID-19 recovery) CARES Act, less than 1 percent went to fund public education.”
Polston points out that school districts are required by state law to present a balanced budget by June 30, 2020 for the upcoming school year, even though the state has not provided an answer about the shortfall for 2019-20 or given a projected budget for 2020-21.
“This is unacceptable,” he said. “To meet our legal requirement, we have to use the budget forecasts that have been provided (to Godfrey-Lee schools). These forecasts call for $2,750,000 in cuts for our upcoming school year. Cuts of this magnitude would devastate GLPS and would challenge the district’s future solvency.”
To aid Kent County schools districts explain the current funding system, and the need for community support and action, the Kent ISD produced a series of short videos.
An ISD is a regional education service agency. The job of Kent County’s ISD, one of the state’s 57 agencies, is to “help local school districts with programs and services that are best done on a regional basis — things that are highly specialized or that would be far too expensive on an individual basis,” according to the Kent ISD.
The videos:
History of Michigan Public School Finances, which details how school financing in Michigan is guided by Proposal A which was approved by Michigan voters in 1994 which shifted ‘day to day’ school finance to a state-based model.
What Public School Finances Fund, which details how public schools in Michigan spend a majority of their resources on personnel and describes how dollars are divided up to fund education in this state.
Taxes and Public School Education, which explains how everyone who works or lives in Michigan helps to support public schools by paying taxes, and where tax dollars for public education come from and how they are spent.
COVID-19’s Impact on Michigan School Funding, which details how school finance will be greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the economic impact will negatively affect Michigan’s public schools.
Local high schools cannot yet open their weight rooms for summer student-athlete programs, but they now have guidance as to how the state’s sports governing body recommends such activities take place. (2019 photo from Lee High School by WKTV)
As a clear example of what Lee High School athletic director Jason Faasse described as an “ever-changing time” in Michigan high school athletics, there was exactly three days separating the May 29 release of the MHSAA’s “Guidance for Opening School Sports” and its June 2 reopening update.
Last week, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), the public school athletics governing body, issued its eagerly anticipated guidance on how summer preparations and possibly fall sports can take place in a time of COVID-19 related restrictions.
This week, the MHSAA updated its guidelines for reopening of school sports based on the lifting of stay-at-home order and further recommendations from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office, announced Monday, June 1. All Michigan schools halted winter and spring sports when schools were ordered shut April 3 to help decrease the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Wyoming High School AD Ted Hollern. (WKTV)
Even with a constantly changing environment, two local athletic directors were happy to at least have a starting point on the road to resuming athletics.
“Wyoming (Public Schools) is encouraged that the MHSAA has a universal plan in place for all school districts to follow,” Wyoming High School athletic director Ted Hollern said this week to WKTV. “It is a great blend of making sure we keep the kids safe while at the same time providing opportunities for our students to begin preparing for the upcoming athletic seasons.”
Stepped process and risk by sport
In the Guidance for Opening School Sports issued last week, the MHSAA “recommends a three-step process to returning to full athletic participation, and for each step outlines actions to be taken in five major areas: pre-workout/contest screening of athletes and coaches for sickness, limitations of the number of participants who may be involved in a gathering, proper cleaning for facilities, the use of equipment during activity and best practices for keeping participants safely hydrated.”
The plan also places sports into categories based on risk for transmitting the virus (low/moderate/high), with adjusted return-to-activity steps based on that level of risk. The MHSAA’s “Potential Infection Risk by Sport” is “modified from United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee Sports Medicine recommendations, which was examined through the probability of respiratory droplet transmission/exposure.”
For example, in football, actual Friday night football games are currently considered high risk while common 7-on-7 summer practiced are considered moderate. Wrestling and competitive cheer are also high risk. Low risk includes cross country and most track and field events, swimming and golf.
While the risk assessment included in the MHSAA document may give hints as to what sports might be on — or off — this fall, both ADs Hollern and Faasse said the more important aspect was giving school athletics summer activities a path forward.
“I think the MHSAA is giving us best practices (for us to follow),” Faasse said this week to WKTV. “This is an uncertain time, ever changing time, and we have to be careful with the kids. … (But) our coaches and kids are eager get back to work … When the school is open, and that is a district decision, we can start some things.”
The June 2 MHSAA update reiterates Faasse’s point of sports being ready when school administrations approve openings of schools and school facilities.
Member schools may begin summer activities at school facilities as long as school administration has announced schools facilities are open to students and staff, and the academic school year (last day of online instruction/exams) has ended, the MHSAA update states.
In addition, indoor facilities, including gymnasiums and weight rooms, remain closed. This includes swimming pools, although outdoor pools may be used for athletic activities. Competition is not yet allowed because participants must continue to follow social distancing.
“We were excited and encouraged by Governor Whitmer’s announcements Monday,” Mark Uyl, MHSAA executive director said in supplied material. “The opportunity for outside gatherings of up to 100 allowed us to rework a number of guidelines that we had published Friday as part of the MHSAA/NFHS reopening document.
“Our schools have been cautiously eager to take this long-awaited first step. We will continue to provide updates in accordance with the Governor’s directives for reopening the state, always prioritizing safety for all involved in school sports programs.”
The Guidance for Opening School Sports, according to the MHSAA, is based primarily on direction provided by the MHSAA and National Federation of State High School Associations’ (NFHS) Sports Medicine Advisory Committees, in addition to reopening plans provided by the Michigan and federal governments and recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Concepts from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee also were consulted.
The MHSAA serves more than 1,500 public and private schools, including 750 high schools.
For the complete original MHSAA Guidance for Opening School Sports, see the document here. For updates on the MHSAA and school athletics, visit mhsaa.com.
Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, in the wake of the death of George Floyd and resulting protests in Grand Rapids and across the county, on Monday issued a statement through the district superintendent’s office condemning both racism in any form but also anti-racism protest violence in any form.
The statement not only commented on the death of Floyd, an African-American, while in custody of Minneapolis, Minn., policemen, but also on the district’s own ongoing efforts to combat racism. (A Spanish language version of the statement is available at the end of this article.)
“Our hearts go out to the family of Mr. George Floyd as they mourn his tragic death,” the June 1 statement from the Godfrey-Lee Public School’s Superintendent Kevin Polston reads. “Many in our country are hurting as Mr. Floyd’s death is yet another reminder of the impact systemic racism has on people of color in America.
“It is the responsibility of those with privilege and power to create change to utilize their influence for the betterment of our society. We cannot continue on the slow trajectory we are on and expect to achieve equality. Change must happen now and we call on protesters to continue to demand change, but to do so in a peaceful manner.”
The district statement points out that earlier this year, the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Board of Education approved an equity policy to guide our work in creating an equitable education system for each member of our school family. (The policy is available here.)
A key action from the policy pointed out in the statement is as follows:
“Interrupt and dismantle harmful or inequitable practices and policies, eliminate implicit and explicit biases, and create truly inclusive, culturally responsive, antiracist school environments for adults and children.”
Superintendent Polston then closes the statement this way:
“This is our promise to the community,” Polston said.” You have my full commitment to use the access, voice, privilege, and authority I have to create change. … To use an analogy, there is enough food at the table for everyone to eat, but that means some will have to eat less so that all can be nourished. … The future of our children is at stake, we cannot stand by and watch.”
